Saturday, November 15, 2008

The Next Big Thing? UFC 91

UFC 91 tonight is an intriguing sporting event. The undercard isn't very inspiring but the main event is crazy - Brock Lesnar challenging Randy Couture for the heavyweight title. Lesnar is a former professional wrestling champion and collegiate wrestling champion. He has proven a talented fighter and he's a monster. Couture is an amazing athlete and has the heart of lion but he's giving up over 50 pounds and 15 years. It's going to be interesting. We'll have updates here. (image credit: fouledout.wordpress.com)

10:23: With an impressive jiu-jitsu display, Damian Maia forces Nate Quarry to tap via rear naked choke at 2:13 of the first round.

10:33: Gabriel Gonzaga looked very strong in defeating Josh Hendricks by TKO at 1:01 of the first round. Gonzaga landed some hard shots, Hendricks looked overmatched in his UFC debut. It's worth remembering that the smaller Couture stopped Gonzaga last year. Two short fights so far.

10:48: Presumably this fight was earlier in the night. Matt Brown endures a game Ryan Thomas and a couple of slams to gain a submission victory via arm bar at 0:57 of the second round. By the way, Ryan Thomas's nickname is "The Tank Engine", I enjoyed that.

11:05: Dustin Hazelett vs TamdanMcCrory is a match-up of mild-looking, tough guys. Hazelett's beard looks fake. McCrory lands some good shots and obviously hurt Hazelett with a leg kick. But the fight goes to the ground and Hazelett is a magician. Hazelett wins by arm bar at 3:59 of the first round in a skillful, highly enjoyable fight.

11:25: Back and forth fight between Jeremy "Lil' Heathen" Stephens and Rafael dos Anjos (shown from earlier) until Stephens lands a vicious uppercut early in the third round and wins by TKO.

11:38: Kenny Florian looks very impressive in dismantling Joe Stevenson, ending the fight via rear naked choke at 4:03 of the first round.

12:08: Lesnar is enormous. He almost completely obscures Couture from many of the camera angles. Couture succeeds in establishing a tactical fight. Lesnar just seems too big but Couture is making a fight of it. A close first round. In the second, Lesnar connects with a right to the temple and Couture is stunned. Lesnar overwhelms the champion with hammer fists, winning by TKO at 3:09 of the second round. Couture is a champion and battled a much bigger man. Lesnar is the real deal.